United States Eighth Circuit

In a civil rights suit against several employees of a state Department of Health and Human Services, denial of plaintiff's motion to compel discovery and summary judgment for defendants on his retaliation claim is affirmed where: 1) the district court properly found the crime-fraud exception inapplicable on these facts, and thus it did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to compel one employee to answer certain questions relating to his communications with an attorney; and 2) summary judgment was proper as the evidence was insufficient to demonstrate a genuine issue of fact regarding the existence of defendants' retaliatory intent.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/22/2007
• Published 08/22/2007

Judges

• MELLOY, Circuit Judge., Before MELLOY, SMITH, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Ms. Maren L. Chaloupka, argued, Scottsbluff, NE, for appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Michael J. Rumbaugh, argued, AAG, Lincoln, NE, for appellee.